Separable button



Jan, 6, 1925.

1,522,139" 1. V. PILCHER ET AL SEPARABLE BUTTON Fued March 29 1924 atroz nu;

Patented Jan.. 6, 1925.

UNHE. S

EES

i "if E N 2F Jenn v. rrLonEnANn JOHN r. Barnim, onnoorsvrritn, KENTUCKY;fsainffnaenrrr Assrenon :To sain ernannte., .Y

SEPARABLE BUTTQN.

Application ledMarch 29, 1924. Seria1 No. 702,939.'

To.: all 'whom z'tmayvconcem:

Beit known that we, JOHN V. PILCHER and :J oHN F. BABBiT'r, citizens of the United States, and residents of Louisville, in the county of vJefferson Aand `State oflKentuclcy, have invented certainnew and useful ImprovementsA in Separable Buttons, of whichv the following is a specification.'

Our present inventionrelates to improvements in .buttons ofthe separable ty-pe and aimsl to provide a` construction in whichv precise natureandsco erofour invention beingascertalned and' efined bythe claims.

appended hereto.

In orderthatfthe invention may be "more readilyY understood., -We have annexed hereto drawings illustrative of'two embodiments thereof, in which.:-

Figure l is a central longitudinal section through a button constituting the preferred y form of our invention.

Figs. 2 and 3v are similar views showing the button parts separated.

Figs. 4 and 5 are views analogous to Figs. 2 and 3, showing a modification.

Fig.. 6 is a. section on line 6 6V ofV Fig. Ll. Referring by reference characters to these drawings, and first to the form shownV in Figs.- 1 to 3, inclusive, it will be seen that the button, shown-as ofthe separable cuffbutton type, comprises two-main parts l and 2 which are in theform of shells having spaced anges to receive the cuff vor other parts to `be engaged thereby, and havinghollowinteriors to Contain the cooperating engaging and locking parts. Preferably each shell comprises three sheet metal parts havingoverlapping edges-rolled or. svvaged:to-y

gether. The member l, for example, com# prises an outer heador face'member l?, a shanky member lb having an outwardlyflared edge which is interlocked withthe edgefof member l? and a base or inner'member 1 which has av shank portion projecting"intoV the inner contracted end -of,portior1,1band swaged or lenlarged outwardly therein to hold the parts rigidly together.

Memberf, ,in a similar manner, comprises parts 2a, 2b and 2c likewise united., 'i

The member l yconstitutes the femalegjmeinber of the button or fastener, the'central bore thereofA being'designed'to receive a hollow stud 3 y rigidly carried? with-in the button member Zand protuding therefrom. Conveniently, thestudmemberimay be secured inplace by-havingits outer .end secured to a plate or disc-member 4,- theperipheral edge ofwhic'h;v is'clampedybetween the interloclrededges of parts '2a "and 2b, a .filling piece or -washer 5 being provided when nec-f essary. I e

Stud member 3 is preferably provided with an annular groove or rebate-32L coincidfv ing. with the shank-portion :of the member 2. Said shank` memben is provided `with radi# ally :disposed longitudinal slots 3b, conven` ientlypfour in number', and as itis made of resilient material these form: annularlyvdisposed spring tongues which are grooved evon their outer faces as at 3d to coact with'an internal annular rib 1d formedon orcarried 1 by the bore of member '1, thefree edgeof said stud being rounded as Shown.

To assemblethe button vpartsl-and 2 it isonly-necessary to `iuxtapose the parts'l and 2 withl the stud 3 kaligned with the bore ofpart l and press the partsland-Q. towards each other, when vthe said partsactas a snap fastener, the spring tongue parts lof the stud yieldingto allow the stud to enter the bore until their outer 'groovesg1 align with the rib lb when theirfsprin'gactionforces vthem into and said rib.`

vholds themV in engagement with For locking the Vparts firmly in'this posij 'V tion, and preventing'i accidental -separation.,

we provide the female member l with a plunger 6 which is yieldingly mounted in the female member and has a free end positioned to project within the hollow end of the male member 3.

` A desirable manner of yieldingly supporting the plunger is to provide it with a head 6a abutting against the inner face of a resilient plate or disc 7 and guided by a plate or disc 8 having one inwardly struck portion 8, between which and the plate7 the flanged head 6a is confined. Plates or discs are held in position by the converging and interlocking walls of parts la and l".

The plunger is of such diameter as to fill the hollow bore of the male mei'nberV 2 (or o the space between the spring tongues) when;

the latter is in engagement with-the female member' and in this position prevents inward movement or contraction of the spring tongues, and hence the two parts of the button are held securely locked together. To

enable the parts to be separated, a key or push piece 9 is provided slidably guided in the hollow bore of the male member, and in an aligned opening in the plate l, and having a head 9a projecting through an opening in the part 2a of shell 2, displace` ment of the key being prevented by the flange 9b. Y Y f By pushing upon head 9a, member 6 will be pushed out of the bore of the male member, whereupon the button' parts can be pulled apart. after the manner of the ordinary snap fastener, the spring tongues yielding to permit this action. f

When the parts are to be reassembled, as themale member is entered in the socketrof the female member, the spring tongues are first contracted beneath the head of plunger 6 to a diameter less than the diameter of the plunger, which prevents the plunger from enteringl said bore until the tongues have sprung outwardly into engagement with the flange of the female member, whereafter the plunger automatically enters the bore and locks the parts together as above described.-

In the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5, instead of providing a push piece or key for operating the locking member, we provide this with means whereby it may be directly retracted. In this, the retaining plate 8a replaced by the internal flange x of a pull piece 8X comprising a pair of parallel arms passing through slots in the plate 7X, said arms passing through an axial opening in the shell member 1x and being united in, or attached to a pull head m. The operation is just the same as that previously described except that the button parts are unlocked by a pulling action instead of a ush.

The male member shown in Fig. 5 is similar to the member shown in Fig. 3, except that the push piece 9 is omitted and the plate 4X and shell part 2X are made imperforate.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. A separable button comprising a stud member and a socket member, having spring locking means for connecting them, and an axially located pin in the stud member operated from the exterior of the button for releasing thelocking means by 'forcing the pin in the direction of the socket member.

2. A separable button comprising a female member, a male member cooperating therewithv comprising annularly arranged spring tongues, a locking plunger within said female member and adapted to enter betweensaid spring tongues to hold them against contracting rmovement, resilient means tending to force said locking plunger towards the male member, and an axially movable key within the stud member arranged to impinge aga-inst the head of the locking plunger.

3. A separable button comprising male and female members, said male member comprising a 'tubular stud having a split end and anannular groove adjacent the end, and said female member an annular ribcooperating Awith said groove, a1 locking Yplunger v'yieldably mounted in said female member in alignment with thewbore of saidrstud, and

Vof a size to enter said bore only when said split end is expanded, and axially disposed means operable through and from the exterior of one of said button members for withdrawing said locking plunger from said bore. 'l

4. A separable button comprising male and'female members, said male member com- -prising a tubularstud having a split end provided ,withan annular groove and said socket member having an annular rib cooperating with said groove, a locking plunger axially mounted in said female member, spring means tending to project said plunger into the bore of the male member, and an axially arranged push key slidably located in said male member.V

5. A separable button comprising male and female members, said female member comprising a hollow shell having a constricted mouth, a spring plate carried within said shell, a locking plunger carried by said plate and depending axially within said constricted mouth, and said male member comprising a stud having a split tubular end cooperating with said constricted mouth, means being providedy for limparting axial movement to said locking plunger within said female member.

6. A separable button comprising a pair of complementary shells having spaced flanges and having hollow interiors, one of said shells containing a tubular stud member-with a split part projectingtherefrom having an annular groove and the other Shell ally movable push pin carried by the other having an internal flange to engage said and extending into said tubular Stud and groove, an axially movable spring pressed 'abutting said locking pin. 10 locking pin carried Within said last named In testimony whereof, We aix our signa- 5 shell, and having its end adapted to be held tures.

Within the split portion of the stud When JOHN V. PILCHER. the shells are locked together, and an axi- JOHN F. BABBITT. 

